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The Girl in the Spider’s Web Casts Borg/McEnroe Star

admingDecember 6, 2017Views 11

The movie sequel to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has found its leading man to play opposite Claire Foy as Lisbeth Salander in Sverrir Gudnason. The cast of The Girl in the Spider’s Web has been rounding out nicely over the last few months, but fans of the 2011 David Fincher film have been wondering who would replace Daniel Craig as the journalist Mikael Blomkvist in this new film. The answer to that question was revealed today, and it’s someone who recently held his own during an onscreen rivalry with Shia LaBeouf.

When it was announced that a sequel to Dragon Tattoo would have a new director and cast, many were disappointed that Fincher, Craig, and Rooney Mara would not be returning. This was tempered a little when Fede Álvarez (Don’t Breathe) was confirmed as the director, being seen by most as a solid choice. Following that, Claire Foy was cast as the new Salander, along with Sylvia Hoeks as the pivotal role of her ‘evil’ sister Camilla. Actor Claes Bang (The Square) was also recently confirmed as playing the main villain. Up until now, though, the role of Blomkvist has been left vacant.

Related: Girl In the Spider’s Web Director Explains Recasting

However, Variety reported that Norwegian actor Sverrir Gudnason has now been cast as Salander’s ally. Gudnason will be familiar to anyone that caught the real-life biopic Borg/McEnroe, as he played the lead role of Björn Borg, opposite LaBeouf as John McEnroe. Gudnason will be the third actor to play the role on film. While Craig is known in the part from the English-language version, the actor Michael Nyqvist played the role in the original Swedish-language trilogy that made a star out of Noomi Rapace (Prometheus) with her portrayal of Salander.

Although The Girl in the Spider’s Web is being promoted as a sequel to Dragon Tattoo, it is based on the fourth novel of the Millennium series and the first story not to have been written by the original author, the late Stieg Larsson. This new story was scribed by David Lagercrantz, and was published in 2015. If the film follows the same plot, it will see Salander go up against a criminal organization called ‘The Spider Society’ and clash with her own estranged sister, while reconnecting the relationship between her and Blomkvist.

The attention in the previous films have always been on Salander, but both Craig and Nyqvist provided solid support and good foils for the lead actresses. Hopefully this will continue with the appointment of Gudnason in the role, as the chemistry between him and Foy will be an important factor in the film’s success. His performance and charisma in Borg/McEnroe seems to indicate that this will be the case. The film is due to start shooting in January, in locations including Berlin and Stockholm. We look forward to its release next year, and will bring you any further updates for The Girl in the Spider’s Web in the meantime.